Cargo theft in the United States has reached gigantic proportions. The FBI conservatively estimates annual losses at between $3.5 billion and $10 billion annually, while the Volpe Report from the Department of Transportation estimates indirect costs of those losses at between $20 billion and $60 billion annually. A disturbing number of those thefts (40% by some estimates) involve driver and warehouse personnel complicity.
Trailer theft by deception is not uncommon. Fraudulent authorization papers presented to security by a driver will allow that driver to depart the facility with a stolen trailer.
Many facilities are closed when trucks arrive, and drivers are dependent on prior dispatch information to accurately drop and hook trailers. Information received by a driver from dispatch prior to arrival at facility is rendered inaccurate if changes have been made at the designated facility and the driver is unaware of these changes.
At large busy facilities traffic control generally does not always have an accurate account of the disposition of trailers, dock doors or parking space that is already occupied. It is common practice at facilities for security to instruct an incoming truck to park the trailer in a designated parking area without assigning a parking space number to driver. Security and traffic control are dependent on driver to inform them of parking space location of parked trailers and the parking space location from which a trailer is retrieved for departure from the facility.
It is not uncommon at large facilities for traffic control to dispatch a yard tug driver to go and “find” a particular trailer and report its location back to traffic control.
Crowded, disorganized parking of trailers at parking areas within the facility is commonplace. Equipment and property are damaged by drivers in the process of parking and retrieving trailers at these areas.
Security at some facilities is non existent. At other facilities, security consists of a security guard making rounds of the property at regular intervals. However, a security guard can not be in all places at all times.
Other measures of security presently employed include cameras and seals or locks on trailer doors, but cameras are easily rendered inoperable, and seals and locks can be cut with bolt cutters or a hacksaw.
Satellite communication is employed in specific areas of truck operations and is primarily a tracking system that ‘observes’ from space. However, satellite tracking, while useful in some areas of the industry, is susceptible to atmospheric and technical interference. It also does not address the continuous multiple tracking, loading/unloading, parking, damage control and security problems presently existing at large busy facilities. In addition, the effectiveness of the satellite tracking system is dependent on an attachment to the trailer to accommodate satellite tracking signal, and any attachment to a trailer is vulnerable to vandalism, theft or deactivation.
While some large facilities do have computerized tracking systems in place, They are simply that—tracking systems for containers within that particular facility. None are integrated into a security line which alerts security and other authorities when a breach of security takes place.
It is an object of the invention to provide a security, tracking and damage control system relevant to cargo containers within the transportation industry.
It is another object of this invention to have a security system in place that instantaneously detects and defines unauthorized activity such as intrusion into a trailer or container, removal of commodity from trailer or container, or movement of trailer or container.
It is another object of this invention to alert facility security and other authorities instantaneously when tampering of a container occurs.
It is another object of this invention to prevent damage to property and vehicles by providing drivers with a visible and audio guidance system when backing up to dock doors or parking spaces.
It is another object of the invention to log and record automatically all vehicles entering and departing a distribution facility, with a security check system in place that detects errors related to driver name and I.D., bills of lading, tampering or incompatible I.D. code numbers, to investigate mistakes, and prevent unauthorized entry into or movement of trailers or containers.
It is another object of the invention to create an automatic vehicle tracking system that instantly records and updates on Traffic Control computers all vehicle movements within distribution facilities at the exact instant the activity takes place.
It is another object of the invention to implement a yard tug system that automatically assigns yard tugs to extract or insert trailers at dock doors and parking spaces. This tug locator system will assign the closest tug to the location of the trailer to be extracted from a dock door, thus saving time and fuel.
It is another object of the invention to implement automatic, reliable communications between Traffic Control and mobile/yard tugs, and record instantaneously and automatically the insertion and extraction of trailers at dock doors and parking spaces, including stationary times of parked trailers at Traffic Control monitoring computers.